The Choice Is Simple
by Crystal Delphina
Summary: Videl makes a decision to protect both herself and Gohan from hurt, but it ends up hurting both of them more then she could have imagined. Love is not something to be thrown to the wind, but to be kept by your side. Videl only needs to learn that.
1. It's Been Five Long Days

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother, you already should know the drill by now. But for a quick overview.... I don't own DBZ.

A.N.: My second G/V fic. Hopefully it's even better then my first. Basically as a summary, Videl makes a decision based on what she thinks is the best course of action. But is it really? And how does it effect her and Gohan. Yes it is a bit suspenseful right now, but everything will be explained next chapter, so hold on until then. As always, review, review, review.

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thinking : you should be able to figure out who's thinking what. I'll try to make it easy on you guys.

****

The Choice Is Simple

By ~Crystal Delphina~

Chapter 1: It's Been Five Long Days

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

She hated the spring right now for many reasons. One was that it would be beautiful and sunny one day, then the next, only gloom and rain prevailed.

It had been nearly two hours now since she had woken up. She hadn't moved at all, but just allowed the minutes to tick by, looking out her balcony windows. The rain wasn't helping her spirits at all either.

Peering at the clock on her bedside table, it read 7:00 A.M. Like another personal alarm, there was a knock on her door.

"Miss Videl," a young servant woman entered the spacious room. "it's time to get up. School starts in 45 minutes. Are you feeling better today?"

"I'm not going to school Noriko," Videl's voice sounded forlorn, as she continued to look at the droplets of water cascading down on the city and trailed down her window.

"But Miss Videl, this will be the fourth day. Are you sure I shouldn't call a doctor?"

"Yes I'm sure. I'll be fine. I'll go tomorrow."

"Miss Videl, you said that yesterday. If your father were to find out he'd have a fit. Thank your lucky stars that the master is off on a tour in America. He'll be returning next month you know." If Hercule found out that Noriko had 'allowed' Videl to stay home for four days, it would be her job on the line.

"Yes I know. My father won't get upset, so don't worry. I'm staying home today."

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Noriko turned to leave, grabbing the door handle in the process.

"Wait Noriko."

"Yes Miss Videl?" Hopefully she had decided to change her mind.

"You and the others can have the day off; you'll get full pay. I would prefer to be alone today."

"But Miss Videl!" She was shocked to say the least.

"No buts. You can all go."

"Yes Miss Videl, and thank you very much for your kindness," Noriko dropped the subject knowing that the young woman wouldn't budge, and just decided to accept the gift graciously.

Shutting the door once more, she paused. Although she was nearly 12 years older then Videl, they were on friendly terms.

"Videl," she knew that those terms were needed now and dropped the formalities. "are you ever going to tell me what's got you so down in the dumps?" 

Seconds went by in silence before Videl finally spoke, " maybe someday, but for right now, I'm just going to say I lost something. Have a good day off Noriko."

Noriko sighed sadly, " you too Miss Videl." The door clicked shut with her heartfelt farewell.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Chichi was worried. Her oldest son had barely eaten anything the last five days. Only enough to sustain minimal life. The rest of the time, he was either locked in his room, or training to the extremes in the harsh elements. He even had refused to train with Goten.

She looked outside the window above the sink. Dirtied dishes piled into the soapy water were subjected to Chichi's sponge. Cleaning one after another, she continued to look out at the dismal weather, searching for her son.

Gohan was out in that rain, most likely, beating himself up. He probably wouldn't come back for lunch, and when he would return late that night, he would eat a plate of food, just _one_ plate, then head to the lonely room he called his own. It was the same routine day after day. And it was driving her nuts because she couldn't figure out why!

He wasn't even obeying her. He refused to go to school, and even went so far as to yell at her when she pestered him about it. It was appalling. Her little Gohan, actually rebelling??

Gritting her teeth, she attacked the dishes with a bit of vengeance. 

__

He's going to have a truckload of studying to make up when his little fit is over with

The dishes would have cowered under her glare if they could.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

She got up. She actually had left her bed, and even more, she had got dressed; a miracle. And of all miracles, she left her room, the first time in the past five days. Miracles really could happen, and Videl just proved it.

Videl entered the massive kitchen that held more appliances then some top restaurants. Grabbing a spoon, then a yogurt, she sat down on a stool and ate. All of her meals had been served to her in her room. It was somewhat nice to eat outside of such familiar walls.

Finished, she headed down to the main training room. It was filled with her father's students. How disgusting.

"Everyone out now! There will be no classes or training of any kind here today." The students first stared at her until she extended a finger pointing towards the public exit to emphasize her point. No one moved.

"Get OUT!!" she bellowed. That got them. They scrambled as fast as they could out of the room.

Muttering, she began attacking the first punching bag in her path. "Finally."

After nearly two hours, she let out a frustrated cry. Usually each punch and kick she landed alleviated tension, or pushed away whatever she was concerned about to the back of her mind. Not this time though.

The whole situation she was in started with a fight. 

Each hit she gained on the defenseless bag just reminded her of that. A spar. Just a simple little training session, right? She swallowed a hard lump in her throat just at the thought of it.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

The ki blast did an arc and headed right back towards the original source. Ready and waiting, Gohan let it hit him full force. He wanted to feel the pain.

A way to get his anger out and know that he was still there; alive. His usually training had him doing controlled movements, graceful actually in some ways, that had a gentle force behind them, but still powerful. Now, he was nearly reckless, just putting raw power behind each attack.

He was blinded. It was almost like that blindness that came upon him when he fought Cell. When his own pride caused him to make a fool of himself. However, this emotion wasn't pride in knowing he was powerful. No, this emotion was just heartbreak and confusion. He threw another ki blast out. It turned and began to come back once more like a boomerang. He was ready and waiting to feel the pain.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Videl collapsed to the floor, her legs giving out on her. She slumped forward, gasping heavily from the strenuous work out. She glanced at a clock; 2:30 PM. She had been training for nearly 6 hours. She moved to get up, and headed back towards her room. As soon as she entered, she heard the buzzer in her room, indicating someone was at the front door.

"Who is it?" she sounded gruff, like the 'old' Videl, as she flipped an intercom switch.

"Erasa. Can I come in?"

"Fine," she clicked the button to unlock the door, and tried to look presentable. It didn't seem to work, and Erasa made it apparent.

"My god Videl, you look just awful. What happened? And you know you shouldn't be training when you're sick." Erasa sat down on Videl's bed, throwing her book bag on the floor.

"I'm not sick."

A confused expression came on Erasa's face as she stared at Videl. Videl started throwing clothes around trying to decide what to change into.

"Then why haven't you been at school?" Videl paused; froze was actually a more accurate description.

"I just haven't felt good, alright?" she snapped.

"Ahh, I get it. Your dad's away so you're just chilling out right?"

"Uh...yeah...right." Videl absentmindedly agreed as she began searching once more.

"That's cool. But it's been really boring at school without you around. And especially since Gohan is gone too. He must be sick, because he's been absent since Monday like you."

That damned lump came back in her throat. She tried to not sound interested in the topic of conversation. Trying not to choke, she actually acted rather harshly.

"Oh really? That geek must be studying at home for some big exam or something. You know that he's never been sick once. I bet his mother wouldn't even allow him to be sick."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, I've got a date with Sharpener in thirty minutes, so here's your homework." Erasa reached down and took a bunch of papers out of her book bag. After placing them on the bed, she stood up while grabbing her bag in the process.

"I'll see ya later Videl. You better come tomorrow though." Erasa flounced out of the room, giving a small wave to her friend. Videl began musing over her new information as soon as Erasa left.

"So Gohan hasn't been going to school either, huh?" She headed towards the bathroom to get cleaned up. 

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

The sun was setting; at least he assumed it was. It was already dark out with the cloud cover and rain. He opened the door to his house, water dripping off him and onto the hardwood floors. 

Chichi looked up from the mangled shirt she was trying to sew. Gohan just stood in front of her gazing off somewhere else.

"Mother," his voice surprised her. "I've come to an important decision. I would like you to finish my education. I can take exams later this spring and get my diploma. Then I can take the university exams this summer."

"WHAT?!" The shirt forgotten, she jumped up in shock. "You can't do that! What about all of those classes?!"

"I already know all of the information," he was calm and reserved. To calm for Chichi's liking.

"But what about your friends? The whole reason I sent you to a public high school is so that you could be with people your own age." He flinched. 

__

Ah ha!

"I'll do just fine without them." Chichi's determination hardened. It was time to pull out the big guns. 

"Well what about Videl? You two seem so close." Her question sounded innocent enough. She got the response she had been looking for though. Gohan seemed to wince in pain at first before he visibly hardened.

"It was nothing. She just wanted lessons out of me, that's all. Nothing to serious." Mother's intuition stated that he was lying through his teeth. Time to start asking questions.

"Gohan, what happened between you two? Since Saturday afternoon, you've been an emotional tornado. Literally. Look what you've done to the poor landscape around here."

"Nothing happened mother. Look, are you going to home school me or not?" he cut straight to the point, avoiding her question.

"But Gohan -"

"Nothing happened. Just leave it at that. What's your answer?" his voice was steely, dangerous really. She sighed knowing she had lost this battle.

__

But there's still the war.

"Fine Gohan. But you have to go to school tomorrow and next week to get everything in order. Now go to bed. It's late, and you have classes tomorrow." He left the room without any further commentary. Not even a simple goodnight at that.

Chichi picked up the discarded shirt and began her handiwork again, upset about her son. She then remembered that he hadn't even had dinner.

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	2. A Fateful Spar

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother, you already should know the drill by now. But for a quick overview.... I don't own DBZ.

A.N.: My second G/V fic. Hopefully it's even better then my first. Basically as a summary, Videl makes a decision based on what she thinks is the best course of action. But is it really? And how does it effect her and Gohan. I know this chapter is a bit confusing, but I think you'll get it as it goes on. Basically, you switch between the memory, and Videl and Gohan's point of view presently.

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thinking : you should be able to figure out who's thinking what. I'll try to make it easy on you guys.

****

The Choice Is Simple

By ~Crystal Delphina~

Chapter 2: A Fateful Spar

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Videl slipped under her covers, now regretting her decision earlier. Nighttime was the loneliest and all she could do was think about current situations. The absence of the staff was now being missed.

She shut her eyes, willing sleep to come, so that way images wouldn't sneak up on her like they usually did. Too late though.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Videl soared towards the Son's house, admiring the beauty of the surrounding area. The sun sparkled on the nearby lakes and a leafy smell assaulted her senses from the trees below. She and Gohan were planning to train today, and she made a personal goal; to actually land more then ten punches on the guy.

Although he would decrease his speed and strength for her, he wouldn't let her have an easy time either. Every now and then, she would manage to get a couple hits on him, but never actually come out as the victor in their little training sessions.

She landed outside of the small cottage, and was immediately greeted by the young Goten running out with a bright smile.

"Hi ya Videl!"

"Hey Goten. Where's your brother?"

"Mom's yelling at him right now about something. He should be out any second." Right on cue, Videl gave a smirk as Gohan came running out of the house. Videl was flustered though, the smirk wiped off her face, as suddenly Gohan grabbed her around the waist and took off into the safety of the sky. She barely had time to register what was going on.

"Gohan!" She slapped his arm lightly. "What do you think you're doing? I know how to fly perfectly well on my own. I don't need your help anymore if you recall." She got her answer though before he even had time to respond.

"Son Gohan! You get back here right now and clean this room!!" Chichi's voice could be heard for miles around as it echoed throughout the mountains.

"Oh my God. What'd the hell did you do to get her that mad??" With wide eyes, Videl turned her head upwards towards him. He looked down a bit in shame.

"I got up late today, and mom had told me I needed to clean my room before you came. However you came before I had the time, so I just decided to beat it."

"Well maybe we should go back. She sounded pretty mad." Gohan's answer was quite clear has he wildly shook his head.

"No way. She'd make me do a whole truckload of chores. We'd never be able to leave and go train."

"Fine." She decided to drop the subject realizing that he was probably right. It was then that Videl remembered the position she was in. Gohan's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her close. Nearly to close. Even though Videl felt that she should mind and demand to be let go of, she actually liked it.

She blushed slightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. Hoping he wouldn't ask what she was doing, she closed her eyes, oblivious of the blush staining his own face. Her excuse in case he did ask? She was 'tired' and they were landing soon anyway.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

A pained expression swept across Videl's face like a tidal wave. God how she had loved that feeling. That feeling of him being so close to him. That feeling of security. Protection. Maybe even possibly love.

Nevertheless, she had to squash those feelings. She couldn't allow herself the luxury of them.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Gohan landed in the meadow where Videl had her original flying lessons. There were numerous butterflies and wildflowers decorating the scenery for the fine spring day. The small jolt from the landing awakened Videl from her quick catnap. She avoided what had just happened.

"So are we working on anything special today? Or should we just spar?"

"Let's just spar. No offense, but I don't feel like teaching today. I have a lot on my mind." Videl crossed her arms over her chest expectantly.

"Well are ya gonna tell me about all this stuff that's got you so preoccupied, or do I have to force it out of you?" Gohan gave a wide smile while he crouched into a fighting stance.

"Force it out of me." She smirked. Deciding to try to surprise him (which she doubted was even possible) she lurched forward and attacked. The fight had begun.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Gohan laid in bed thinking (he seemed to have been doing that a lot lately). Videl had done quite well that day. Every time they got together, she would get slightly better - stronger. However, how that training session had progressed...

When had his feelings changed for this girl?

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

He had to admit that she was actually landing more hits then he usually let her. The reason? Simply put, he was distracted, and mostly by her. For a while now, he had been struggling with the growing feeling that his view of her was more then a friendly relationship. He was for certain he was falling in love with his best friend.

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Damnit. She just kicked him in the shoulder - hard.

He couldn't tell her of his feelings yet though. So far, he had done a good job keeping his emotions under control so she wouldn't notice. He had managed to keep his friends off his case too with his whole little naive act he would pull when someone would try to mention them as a couple. Come on people, you actually thought the genius boy was stupid when it came to emotions? His whole fighting abilities where dependent on his emotions. What would the fiery spirited girl do if she found out though? He wasn't quite sure yet.

However, she had to be catching on. She seemed to notice every time he stiffened and glared at Sharpener when he tried to even touch Videl. Moreover, Gohan always seemed to be close to her - protective even - whenever they were together. 

He knew he loved her as each day passed.

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I love her? It was a new concept to the young man that took him by a bit of surprise. He had never had feelings for someone like this before.

She kicked the side of his arm.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Videl continued to try to sleep. She even gave into counting sheep. The effort was pointless as the minutes dragged on and her eyes remained open.

"132... 133.... 134..."

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

She could tell his heart wasn't in it today (quite the contrary though actually, though she wasn't aware of that) and decided it might be best to wake him up. She pinned him to the ground, and gave a devilish smirk down at his wide eyes.

"You weren't paying attention. Mind telling me what's going on now? It might help to get it off your chest you know." She snickered evilly as she added meaning to her words, shifting her body back and forth on top of him. Gohan nearly moaned before catching himself, and giving her a smirk.

"Sorry, but you have to wait." She scowled down at him.

"Do I have to beat it out of you or something?" Suddenly Videl found herself in the grass. She looked up at the onyx eyes laughing at her.

"Now who's getting careless?" he drawled. He had both her wrists pinned above her head, and had his body partially covering her own. The situation looked futile.

"Not fair. I had you first Gohan," she whined. It was the only weapon she had left. Maybe, just maybe, he would release some of the pressure so she could escape. No such luck today, he wasn't falling for it.

"You let your guard down," he smiled down at her as he whispered. She could feel his warm breath caressing her face, and that feeling returned from earlier when he was flying with her. 

"So what are you going to do about it?" He continued his gloating. Was it just her, or did his face seem to be getting closer every second. She was confused by all of her emotions all of a sudden. Stunned actually.

"Well," she sounded as if she was in a trance, her voice equally as low as his was. "I'm not so sure..." They searched each other's eyes, curious about what the other's next action would be.

"I have an idea..." he murmured. She was sure now that his lips were only a few mere centimeters away. It seemed as though he had fallen into the same trance.

"Really? What is it?" God how she wanted him so badly right then. She could feel a heat consume her body like fire. Her blood was boiling in breathless anticipation.

"This..." he breathed out. Then his lips were upon hers.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Gohan growled in frustration. He buried his head in a pillow, though suffocation was the last thing he was thinking about.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

As soon as his lips met hers, both of them threw themselves into the building passion. They only paused for a second, looking at each other, while consuming air at the same time. A mutual understanding seemed to pass between them. They started kissing once more wildly as if this were their last chance.

Conscious though fled from Gohan's mind like the butterflies in the afternoon breeze. He had what he wanted. He couldn't seem to get enough of it either. He decided to end their frenzied kisses. He kissed her slowly and deeply, bringing her gently back down to earth. It was time to tell her.

He moved his face back a bit to look down at her and grin. She had a dazed look to her, and it was rather amusing to the young demi-saiyan. Surprisingly, his nerves were calm and he was collected.

"I love you Videl." It was simple really. He had just bent down again so that their foreheads were touching, and then had whispered his feelings. She began to smile and she knew immediately that she had never had someone tell her something that had brought her so much joy.

"I lo-" she began to reciprocate the feelings, but something was wrong. Her face fell and her eyes glazed over. Worried, Gohan shook her.

She pushed away her ailment along with Gohan. She looked down at the ground before whispering sternly, "I'm sorry I just can't." She took off into the air.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Videl had been surprised when Gohan had initiated the sweet kiss, but wasn't at all upset. She easily gave into the urges of bliss. In addition, his deceleration of love had only heightened that bliss. Already caught up in the moment, she was about to respond with her own declaration. However, something had stopped her.

Life had seemed to have slowed then when she reached a painful realization, all in a split second. Something had just suddenly clicked in her brain, which overruled her heart. She already knew she loved the sweet boy that had came into her life, but she also considered the consequences of that love, and in the end, they were just too great.

She turned over in the bed, shutting her eyes to ward of the painful memory. A single tear slipped down her cheek silently.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Videl sped through the mountains, trying to leave the heart broken Gohan behind, and put as much distance between them as possible. No such luck. Of course, she knew she never really had a chance considering his advantages, but she had hoped that maybe he would just leave her to be.

Confused and hurt, Gohan took after her few brief moments later. It didn't take long at all to catch up to her. Gohan appeared in front of Videl suddenly, causing her to falter and crash into the immovable wall of flesh in front of her.

"What do you mean you 'can't' ??" Gohan didn't exactly mean to sound harsh, but his emotions were running wild. He couldn't deny the feeling of anger running through his blood. He had laid down his heart, and she had blatantly discarded it without reason. To say he was hurt was an understatement, and his saiyan pride wasn't going to let her get off the hook that easy. 

"Gohan," She looked at his chest, refusing to meet his eyes. If she looked into hies eyes, all hope would be lost, and she'd just plain lose it. "I just can't. Please understand. I don't know how to explain it exactly."

"It's rather simple. Either you love me or you don't. Which is it Videl?" Videl sensed his ki was slowly rising. The look in his eyes was intense, and his hair seemed to become spikier and began to take on that feared golden hue. All an all she was becoming scared. He would never hurt her though - right?

"I do," she answered quickly, and regretted the words as soon as she said them. She tried to cover up her mistake. "I mean I don't."

"Which one? You can't even seem to make up your mind."

"I don't." It sounded as if she were trying to convince herself of it rather then him.

"Fine," he spat the word out bitterly like venom. And suddenly he phased out and was gone. Videl didn't bother to look for him. She fled towards her home, as the tears began to fall.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Gohan had left to avoid getting into a bigger conflict with her. He had to keep his head, otherwise he'd end up hurting her. As soon as he landed, and saw her speed off, he blew up the closest tree next to him. He began smashing apart a nearby rock, trying to release some of his aggravation and energy. The poor mountains took the brunt of his angry attacks.

Gohan sadly removed the pillow from his head, and rolled over on top of it. He was angry still, the anger burning his saiyan blood and commanding him to destroy something, but he was also depressed and sad over the whole situation. Not to mention confused as to her sudden change.

He stared out the nearby window at the night sky. Unconsciously, he naturally began to sense for Videl's ki, and felt it slowly drop as she began to fall to sleep. He gave a faint sad smile, before closing his eyes to try to sleep for the rest of the night.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Finally, Videl had fallen into a fitful sleep after going over the memory. She tossed and turned all night long in her dreamless state.

Again, she awoke to the sound of rain in the morning. She looked out her window, then at her room. She dragged herself over to her dresser and began opening drawers. It was time to get ready for school.


	3. I Just Can't

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother, you already should know the drill by now. But for a quick overview.... I don't own DBZ.

A.N.: My second G/V fic. Hopefully it's even better then my first. Basically as a summary, Videl makes a decision based on what she thinks is the best course of action. But is it really? And how does it effect her and Gohan. I know this chapter is a bit confusing, but I think you'll get it as it goes on. Basically, you switch between the memory, and Videl and Gohan's point of view presently.

I totally had this done like four weeks ago, but then my computer busted down, and also I got grounded from the internet, so that's why it's been so long. Sorry folks, but I hope this was well worth the wait.

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thinking : Videl's little evil side when you near the end, otherwise, at the beginning, it's her regular thoughts.

**__**

thinking: Videl's good side when you reach the end.

****

The Choice Is Simple

By ~Crystal Delphina~

Chapter 3: I Just Can't

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

"So you finally decided come back." Erasa smiled at her friend as Videl took her seat. "Gohan's came back today too. Good timing you guys." Videl nodded absentmindedly. Erasa ignored the nonexistent reply and decided a juicy piece of gossip would wake up her friend and make her pay attention.

"And did you hear? Gohan's leaving this week. Apparently-"

"What?!" Videl shouted, and dismissed the stares she got from people.

"Apparently," Erasa continued from where she had been cut off. "he is continuing his studies back at home. Too bad too. We were starting to get really close with the guy."

__

He's leaving?? Videl sat back down shocked. Erasa's talking faded into the background until she greeted a fellow classmate.

"Gohan! Hey, we were just talking about you." Videl's head jerked up to look at him. Their eyes met, and she immediately dropped her gaze. Gohan walked up the stairs and nodded his head in acknowledgement curtly.

"Hello Erasa... Videl."

They never spoke to each other after that. 

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Gohan leaned his brow against the cool locker and heaved a sigh. It had been a long day. All day long, he had avoided the questions about his leaving from his peers. And he had avoided Videl along with her troubled glances sent his way.

Today was his last day here. He had cleared up all the loose ends with his teachers. It was actually easier then he had expected it to be. However, the emotional attachments weren't as easy to finish.

Erasa, Sharpener, Kenji, Mae, and yes, even Videl (especially Videl). He had accomplished his mission here to make friends his own age. He would miss his newfound friends dearly, but also knew that he would get over it. It wasn't as if he was best friends with them or anything.

He closed his eyes and sighed again. He had cleaned out his locker, and he had returned his books. The school was empty now; the final bell rang nearly 15 minutes ago. He was alone in the hall, enjoying the silence while he created final memories of his time at high school.

"Can I talk to you please?" Gohan kept his eyes closed as her timid voice surprised him.

His emotions were so strong towards her. The hurt and anger from the rejection, but also the loyalty and love he felt towards her. She had sounded sincere enough.

"Go ahead." He didn't remove his head from the locker, and still his eyes remained close.

"Can we go somewhere more private?" Gohan didn't respond but merely began walking towards the exit, Videl following. Upon reaching the open air and sunlight, Gohan only gave Videl a sideways glance before taking off into the bright blue sky.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

"Bulma, it's becoming worse. He demanded to leave the school and has been so hostile lately. He has even been snapping at poor Goten, and me for a matter of fact. I don't know what to do with that boy." Chichi ranted over the phone to her friend about her problematic son.

"And you say this all started Saturday night? How weird."

"I know. And you want to know what I think? I think that Videl did something when she came over earlier. I never have seen him this upset. He's almost acting as cold as Vegeta."

"HEY!!"

"Sorry, but you know what I mean. I'm just worried about what's going on. You think that maybe she's going out with someone from school?"

"Yeah, I could understand his reaction then. If he were to act like this over a single date or something, imagine him if she got hurt - or worse, died."

"Well I'd bet my best frying pan that we wouldn't be standing on this earth, much less anything else in this solar system." Bulma shuddered at Chichi's response.

"Good point, even as scary as it is. Well jealousy or not, the boy has got it bad."

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

She continued to play with the blades of grass beside her as the silence stretched on. It had been nearly five minutes now since they had landed in the lush green valley.

To her left lay Gohan, staring up at the sky like a hawk. Impassive, he had been like that since they landed, not even muttering a single word. His gaze was fixed on the slowly drifting clouds above.

"Gohan?" She willed herself to face him, although her voice trembled with a bit of fear. She remembered how the last time they had talked, that he had almost gone super in anger. She wasn't to thrilled to have those events repeat themselves. 

This wasn't the time to be scared though. Besides, she was the great Satan Videl, never scared of anything in her life. This was not the time to be losing her cool under pressure. Just because he was upset didn't give him the right to ignore her and she'd make sure he knew it. Right after she regained her courage and skipped the fact that who she was next to someon who could destroy the very ground she sat on with his pinky.

"Gohan," she started again, making it known that she intended to say something after his name this time. "Why are you leaving school? It hasn't even been a full year since you arrived."

"It's quite simple. I can easily continue my studies at home and take the tests necessary to go to university. Besides, this way I can help my mom around the house, and take care of and spend more time with Goten. I'll also have more time to train, considering I've been slacking off. 

"The original reason why I even went to Orange Star in the first place was to make friends that I could relate to age wise. Well I've done that. I don't see why I bothered in the first place though now. It isn't like I could ever become close to any of them considering my special circumstances. It really is better off this way." Monotone was clearly the theme today when it concerned Gohan's communication skill towards Videl. It was starting to frustrate her too. Talking to an emotionless rock could get extremely annoying.

"So this isn't about me?" She was skeptical those were the only reasons, especially since the whole thing had happened so quickly.

"Of course not," he answered quickly and seemingly without hesitation. It sounded rehearsed in a way actually. Realization dawned on Videl as the thought overtook her, and she realized he had been prepared and ready for her.

__

Of course, why didn't I realize this earlier? He had planned on me confronting him, and had practiced everything he was going to say. He knew exactly what questions I would ask, and he's can tackle every one of them without feeling. Shit, this doesn't make my situation good.

"Gohan, I want to say I'm sorry." More confident s the time ticked by, she actually took her first good long look at him. He was still watching those damned clouds.

"For what?"

"For acting the way I did towards you. I could have been more...rational then how I responded." Maybe this would get a rise out of him.

"Fine." This was becoming more exasperating by the moment. He was being about as responsive as jello.

__

He probably wouldn't care if the sky fell right now. At least he'd be the first to know. She added cynically.

"Aren't you going to apologize?"

"For what?"

"For how you acted of course. It takes two you know." She gave a loud sigh to try to relive her trying patience.

"Why? I have nothing to apologize for. I own up to how I acted and felt at the time, but will not apologize for either of them." She was finally doing it. He was actually starting to quicken in anger. _Some emotion, no matter how possibly dangerous, is better then none I guess. I bet he wasn't prepared for that._

"You should still apologize," she muttered, forgetting that he could here her.

"I refuse to be sorry for being true to my feelings, unlike you of course."

"Unlike me?"

"Yeah, because you couldn't even give me a clear answer without stumbling over your own words." He sat up and moved so that he was sitting facing her. She in turn, turned a bit to do the same, and they engaged in a heated glaring contest while they argued.

"I already told you." She broke the eye contact by looking down and sighed. "I can't love you."

"And why not? You haven't explained that to me yet. It was on the tip of your tongue, I know it, and then you took it back. Obviously there is a reason since you said ' I **can't**' compared to 'I** don't**'. So what is it Videl?" The worst kind of love in the world is unrequited love, a love that you can want so bad, but can't have. It burns your heart from the inside out. Gohan couldn't stand the heart wrenching feeling.

"You'll hate the answer and blame yourself, I know you will." If he knew the real reason, he would only be able to assume that it was his entire fault. She couldn't put him through his own self-scrutiny like that.

"If you're going to at least deny something, give me the reason so I can feel better knowing."

"Gohan..." Unsure if she should really tell him, she nearly saw pleading in his dark eyes. The air around them seemed to buzz with the energy from the two emotionally charged teens.

She looked down again. If she was going to tell him the truth, there was no way she could do it looking into his eyes. Those eyes - those dark handsome eyes - would be the final straw to break the camel's back. 

__

Damn him and his eyes, they only bring me trouble. I can never look at him when I have something important to say; otherwise, I basically lay out my heart and soul. With those onyx eyes of his, they can see every little detail about me, and my heart. It's impossible to lie to him if I look in his eyes.

"I can't love you because I don't want to end up getting hurt."

"Getting hurt?" The anger he felt before was slowly subsiding, as he tried to understand her reasoning.

"Look, you go into all of these honorable, **dangerous** battles. You've always managed to make it out alive, but I'm afraid that one of these days... you won't. If... If you were to leave me, I honestly don't know how I could go on Gohan. I'd be so heart broken that I might even do something that I wouldn't do under normal circumstances. That's why it's easier if we don't fall in love. I don't want to get hurt; that's already happened in my life from both of my parents. It really is easier if we just don't." Like before, Videl sounded as though she were trying to convince herself with her little speech, while tears threatened to spill at how she would give up the possible love of her life to protect herself. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew Gohan wouldn't put up with the bull she just spewed forth. She really did hope he would buy it though; it'd make it easier for them to spilt paths then.

"Videl," He gave her a pitying look as his anger melted and was quickly forgotten. He moved closer to her and reached out to take her hands into his own. The very action of his touching her, she finally broke down and cried at her heartache and what she was actually considering doing. He automatically pulled her forward and against him, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. She allowed this to happen without any resistance, and wasn't surprised when he had her sit in his lap like a child.

"I'd never hurt you, you know that right?" She nodded her head as she quickly began wiping away the tears. This wasn't helping her situation; it only gave him more to work with.

"I know that Gohan. But like I said, I can't allow myself to love you." This argument was getting harder and harder. She needed to wrap this up quickly and leave his comforting embrace and the large valley soon.

"You love me, don't you?" Gohan remained serious and comforting at the same time, his eyes examining her own.

"Yes..." She was unsure of her answer. It sounded as if it were a trial question, and her answer could send her up the river without a paddle. "but -"

"Then don't you fell that the joy of being in love for just only one day is more thrilling and important then years of loneliness and protection because you weren't willing to take a risk? Videl, I love you, it's plain and simple. Allow yourself to love. You've never been a quitter, and that's one of the many qualities I admire about you."

__

Don't let him do this to you Videl. Remember the pain you felt when your mother died? How depressed you were?

****

Yes, but Gohan...he just feels so right. I do love him, with all of my heart, and a day of his love would never compare to years without it...

You tried to freaking kill yourself Videl! And that was only over motherly love. A romantic love is much much more emotional, and especially with Gohan. As you said yourself, if he lost a battle, you know what you would try to do to stay by his side.

****

SHUTUP! JUST LET ME LOVE!

Videl's inner torment took its toll as tears began to make her vision swim again. That loneliness, the feeling of someone abandoning you, they all came back to Videl, and reminded her of her mother's death which lead to Videl's attempted suicide.

__

He'll end up leaving you, just like your mother did. 

That little voice made her panic. She lurched forward, grasping onto his shirt and burying her head in his chest.

"Gohan, don't leave me. Please don't leave me. You have to promise that you won't just forget about me and take off." She cried tears of pain and fear, as she shook her head slightly back and forth. She faintly recognized his arms squeezing her even tighter against him, pulling her shaking form closer into his embrace. 

"Videl, I'd never leave you, you should know that by now. I promise I won't abandon you," he whispered against her ear in earnest.

"But you can't promise that," Videl said sadly. She looked up at him with her glazed over eyes, and continued. "My mom made that same promise, but then she died." She tried to hide herself again amongst the folds of cloth, but he pulled her up to face him instead.

"You're right Videl, I can't control everything. But I'll try my best. Please Videl," He cupped her cheek with his hand to pull her closer. "just allow me to love you. Allow yourself to love."

__

Stop. Remember, you've never needed anyone, you're strong then that.

****

But that's not true. I do need Gohan. I've never felt like this before. You can't be alone forever; humans just aren't created that way, not even me. 

He'll end up leaving you just like everyone else.

****

I've always been true to my feelings. I'm not going to go against that principal now. Videl finally won her emotional battle. She closed the gap between them with renewed confidence and relief.

The kiss was sweet and chaste, but got the message across. She broke the connection, but didn't move, just looked up at him.

"I love you Gohan," she whispered. He smiled down at her.

"I already knew that Videl. Like I said earlier, I love you too."

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Well I hope you guys all enjoyed that. Technically that's the end, but for some odd reason, I wrote an epilogue... hmm...what to do, what to do. I mean I could put it here, though of course, the trash chute is always good, but you will never get to read it then. hehehe (give evil little smirk). Well maybe if I get enough reviews, I'll post the thing. Otherwise, up until now, the reviews have been great, and I'm enjoying writing GxV fics. I even received a great IM from someone...though of course I'm drawing a blank to their name (I'm sooooo sorry, you have no idea. Though of course you know who you are, so thanks for the encouragement).

As a second note, I already have another fic in the making, and the first chapter should be coming out in about two weeks at the least. And I'm considering writing a second chapter to Those Lonely Nights (check it out if you haven't yet, my first GxV ^_^). Just thought I'd tell you guys what to expect in case you're interested. 


	4. Epilouge

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother, you already should know the drill by now. But for a quick overview.... I don't own DBZ.

A.N.: My second G/V fic. Hopefully it's even better then my first. Basically as a summary, Videl makes a decision based on what she thinks is the best course of action. But is it really? And how does it effect her and Gohan. 

After the enthusiastic response from the last chapter, I thought it would be just cruel to deny you for a couple of weeks. I know it's short, but I didn't think there was a whole lot more to add. Hope you've enjoyed this fic, 'cause I sure have. ^_^

****

The Choice Is Simple

By ~Crystal Delphina~

Epilogue

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

"Bulma?"

"Yes Chichi?" 

"I hate teenagers!!" Bulma nearly dropped the phone at her friend's sudden outburst.

"Um..." She was confused as to how this realization came across for Chichi. "okay, why?"

"Because that son of mine is just an enigma. One minute he's ready to make the 439 mountain area into the 439 barren valley, and the next minute he comes through the door whistling. Whistling!!" Chichi fumed as she paced back and forth through the kitchen, going about her jobs rather crudely. She chopped the carrot with hard jerky (dangerous) movements, nearly slicing the cutting board with her knife using brute force.

"And _then _he tell me that he's not going to leave the school. And as if nothing has changed at all, he nonchalantly walks upstairs to his room - _still_ whistling mind you - and lays on his bed with that big, stupid, loveable, Goku grin. And then he just simply falls asleep, murmuring something or other about Videl and school. I'm going to literally kill that boy," she seethed over the phone, brandishing the knife at an invisible Gohan. Slicing madly at the air for a few seconds, she then slung the knife, and hit a watermelon right in the center that was sitting on a counter clear across the room.

"He has the _nerve _to act like your stupid husband - "

"Will you stop that already?!" Bulma's laughter halted abruptly with Chichi's comment, and instead was replaced by an annoyed and infuriated look.

"Oh shutup Bulma! I'm venting here, so don't cross me right now. We can get into a catfight later about Vegeta if you really want to. Right now, Gohan is the one that is in my line of fire, and I don't suggest you want to be standing behind him when he falls." Bulma shut her mouth and wasn't sure whether to be angered by Chichi's rudeness, or laugh hysterically at how the women was reacting.

"Anyway," Chichi continued without further thought to her comment on Vegeta. " he has the nerve to do that, and then doesn't even apologize or give any type of explanation. Well I'll tell you something - that boy is going to pay." She hung up the phone, not even bothering to say goodbye to Bulma, and wretched the knife out of the watermelon.

"I'll show you Son Gohan," she muttered while cutting (whacking really) at the poor watermelon. "no training or dinner for a week. I'll make him pay. I'll take away the two most important things to those damn saiyans."

Bulma started laughing extremely hard after having to hold it in for so long, as soon as she heard the small click on the other end of the line. Normally, she would have been mad, but the situation truly was sidesplitting. Chichi was acting like a crazed woman, ready to go on a rampage.

Tears fell from her eyes in mirth as she nearly fell onto the floor.

Vegeta paused in the doorway, looking on at the spectacle. With a disturbed look, he walked down the hallway with a bit more haste. The woman had gone eccentric as far as he was concerned and it could be contagious.

{~*~} {~*~} {~*~}

Videl walked into her room with the biggest (goofiest, though she would never admit it and no one would dare tell her) grin on her face. Could she actually smile anymore without stretching her face? Most likely not. Noriko suddenly appeared in the doorway, and paused a moment to examine the teenage girl.

"Phone Miss." Videl couldn't wipe the wide smile off her face as she turned towards Noriko.

"Who is it?" Overjoyed with the change in her attitude, Noriko smiled in turn. The gloomy days had been hard, but Videl seemed to be over it, rather quickly too. Noriko had a sense at to why, but decided to be a bit evil. It would be good to tease the girl a bitafter putting herself and everyone else through hell for five freaking days.

"Oh, you know..." Noriko drawled, eyeing Videl." some guy. I'm sure you don't want to talk to him though, so I'll just tell him to bug off. I mean, I know you don't want to talk to Son Gohan," she said nonchalantly while waving her hand in the air in dismissal. Videl scrambled to her bedside to pick up her phone, not bothering to see the smirk Noriko gave as she walked out the door. 

"Gohan?"

"Hey Videl. Your dad isn't home this week right?" Gohan asked nervously.

"Umm, yeah, right." Unsure of where this conversation was heading, proceeding with caution seemed like the best bet. 

"Do you think I could eat dinner over there for the next week?? Please???"


End file.
